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Packtiting in NYC apartment in the summer!
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highlyneurotic
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Joined: May '12
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Posted 9 months ago
Fri Aug 3 2012 20:32:02
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Hi, this isn't really a question, just felt the need to vent here. Is there anything more hellish than running the Packtite almost continuously in an unairconditioned, tiny NYC apartment in the middle of the summer? It's hellish. The temperature inside my apartment, as measured by the Packtite thermometer (I'm talking the exterior temp, not the temp inside the Packtite) is well over 90 degrees--much warmer than the outside temp. Sigh. The Packtite does tend to raise the temp of the entire room by at least 5 to 10 degrees I'd say.
And while I'm at it, every time I read about someone outside NYC with easy access to a washer/dryer to treat their clothes, I am insanely envious. It's not too easy to schlep my clothes up and down three flights of stairs and walk the blocks to the laundromat just to dry things for an hour or so....not to mention that if I bring them in ziplocs I always feel like I'm announcing myself--"Bedbugs here, please avoid me."
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theyareoutthere
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Posted 9 months ago
Fri Aug 3 2012 21:10:18
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Do you have the closet? I didn't think it warmed it up that much, but I feel for you.
There are a lot of benefits to New York...apartment size, closet size and laundry are not three of them.
Good luck!!
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highlyneurotic
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Joined: May '12
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Posted 9 months ago
Fri Aug 3 2012 21:14:33
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No, I don't have the room (or the money) for the closet! As it is, I don't have a place to store the Packtite regular when I'm not using it....my bed is on risers and I store it in a contractor bag under the bed. Risky, I know, but so far I haven't had any confirmed bbs, just exposure to others' outbreaks (including one overnight visitor recently who did not yet know she had bedbugs when she visited). I'm being as thorough (some might say obsessive) about prevention as I can. And I also run the thing any time I go to a movie now, religiously....
I do love New York, so I shouldn't complain.
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theyareoutthere
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Posted 9 months ago
Fri Aug 3 2012 22:43:18
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I know..it's kind its own energy. I've been to some of the major cities in the world, but love it especially. Some of my bias is due to fond memories of visiting family members there. They treated me like the country bumpkin I am, but they were very generous. First time I had to buy theater tickets, it was more than my rent back home (with a roomate)
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bedbugsuptown
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Joined: Sep '11
Posts: 552offline
Posted 9 months ago
Fri Aug 3 2012 23:46:23
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This time last year I was in the middle of my battle with the bugs. I don't think I bought my Packtite untll sometime in September. I'm in an old building in nyc, similar situation to yours....I might have more square footage though. I've been here a long time. Until maybe 5 years ago i had no circuit breakers, old fuse box in the basement. The land lord had to bring the older tenants up to code meaning he had to install a designated three prong outlet in the kitchen and bathroom and install a circuit breaker in the hall.
When I was running my packtite in september I'd set it up in the front room and run a good quality extension cord down to the new outlet in the bathroom. In the morning I'd set the packtite timer according to what was in it, sometimes 5 hours and go off to work. Never had a problem but then I'm the type that gets a kick outta pushing the limits of jaywalking.In December I still had some bagged stuff that belonged to my adult daughter-she'd moved out!!
Because of the cold hard wood floors I set the packtite on the box that it came in. This kept the temperature up. I always kept the bug oven in the box covered by the original plastic. Still do. It's standing vertically in a corner of the bedroom.Like everyone else I had my share of angst during this time--my infestation was fairly small and at the end of the day I don't think the bb's ever left the frame of the wood bunk bed I shared with my kid.
After she started getting bites I decided to quietly sit in the middle of the bed one saturday morning and bingo, I bagged a bug--confirmation led to early treatment. Hope you never go through an actual infestation. Certainly hope I never revisit that time. And glad you love new york. Can't say I share your love of the big apple, but then - I'm a lifer. -
highlyneurotic
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Joined: May '12
Posts: 57offline
Posted 9 months ago
Sat Aug 4 2012 10:15:56
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bedbugsuptown--wow! Can't believe you left the apartment with the Packtite running, especially with an extension cord! I have a real fear of fire so I would never risk that. I wish I could have kept the shipping box, but I have absolutely no room for that. My floors are carpeted, so the Packtite heats up pretty quickly.
If you don't love New York, why are you a lifer?! I've lived here 17 years myself and don't plan on moving anywhere else as far as I can tell....
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bedbugsuptown
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Posts: 552offline
Posted 9 months ago
Sun Aug 5 2012 22:59:35
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Thought you might be shocked about me leaving the apt. But the packtite is on a timer, my extension cord is heavy duty and was plugged into the updated outlet. I really never thought twice about it. I was out of the apartment so it was the only thing running. I'm not recommending you follow my lead just reporting my story.
Why am I a lifer? Two words--rent control! It's inherited.
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